Publications

Publication details [#236]

Lavoie, Judith. 2002. Traduire pour aseptiser: Huck Finn revu et corrigé par W.-L.Hughes [Translating to cleanse: Huck Finn revised and corrected by W.-L. Hughes]. Babel 48 (3) : 193–216.
Publication type
Article in jnl/bk
Publication language
English
Source language
Target language
Person as a subject
Journal DOI
10.1075/babel

Abstract

This paper looks into the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The author investigates the first translation of the book into French, by William Little-Hughes. The author states that the translation has resulted in sabotaging Twain’s ironic message, that it has cleansed his non-conformist accents, and that it has been transformed into a reactionary and colonialist discourse. The character of Jim has been transformed into an oppressed and ignorant being, and Huck becomes the representative of the white paternalist. This new text is the result of multiple transformations, small or major, that influence the narrative, the descriptions as well as the dialogues. This article is devoted to the analysis of one of these elements; the transfer of Jim’s words into French.
Source : Based on information from author(s)